Box Score NORTHAMPTON - The Smith College basketball team earned a spot in the NEWMAC Championship with a convincing 96-54 win over Salve Regina in the semifinals on Thursday night in Ainsworth Gymnasium. 

With the victory, Smith improves to 25-2 on the year and will be going for a fifth-consecutive conference title on Sunday. 

Top Performers

• Landau scored a team-high 20 points and added five rebounds and five steals
• Maggie Fleming (Downers Grove, IL/Downers Grove) went-5-for-5 to finish with 12 points off the bench
• Uta Nakamura (Manhattan, NY/Long Island Lutheran) and Virginia Johnson (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest) each chipped in 10 points.
• Jazmyn Washington (Los Angeles, CA/Birmingham Community Charter) grabbed a team-high eight boards

By the Numbers

• For Salve Regina, Briana Neary totaled 14 points, six boards, and two steals
• Smith shot 52.9% (37-of-70) from the field, 40.9% )9-of-22) from the free throw line and 76.5% (13-of-17) from the free throw line. 
• Smith scored 50 points in the paint compared to Salve Regina's 18 
• The Pioneers owned a 48-25 advantage on the boards and erupted for 51 bench points

Game Highlights

• Landau wasted no time getting Smith going as the graduate transfer guard scored 13  points in the opening period. She drilled a three-pointer to go up 10 with 1:36 left and then got a steal and finished with a layup on the other end to make it 19-7 after the first.
• Virginia Johnson's (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest) three-pointer coupled with Fleming's layup in the closing minutes put Smith ahead 47-23 going into halftime
• Jane Loo (Saratoga, CA/Saratoga) opened the third with six-straight points to put Smith ahead 53-23
• The Seahawks got as close as 22 with 3:23 left in the third and ended the quarter with a steal and three-pointer to beat the buzzer by Hope Halvarson
• In the fourth, the Pioneers outscored Salve Regina 30-14 to close out the game

Up Next
The Smith basketball team will look to secure its 5th straight NEWMAC title on Sunday, March 2 at 1:00pm. The Pioneers will play MIT who advanced to the championship game with a 60-33 win over   Tickets available for purchase HERE

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, and Instagram.